Two days and counting...

We spent the day taking care of lots of things that must be done before you leave home for more than a month—Smoky mowing and trimming, blowing all the pollen off the deck (what a waste of time, huh?), checking the itinerary one more time, trying to find just the right app for mapping the trip (anybody out there have a suggestion for how to do this?); me opening and closing the refrigerator trying to decide how to create dinner out of what is still available and wondering what to do with what will inevitably be left over in spite of my best intentions.

I packed my clothes yesterday. (Did I mention that already?) Packing early is kind of an obsession with me. I feel the need to pack several days ahead of time, but then I unpack and repack, mostly because I can't remember what I put in that suitcase, and backpack, and extra backpack. Today I unpacked and repacked when I realized that I had used the suitcase that Smoky intended to use. That's OK, though. It gave me a good excuse to look again at what I put in there yesterday!

Actually, clothing is the least of my worries. I'm really trying to figure out where I'm going to squeeze in all the other items I must have, like these:

• my ukulele, purchased while we were in Hawaii in February. I can't stand the thought of not playing a little each night. Luckily it is a concert size, so relatively small, but of course, there is the case it goes in, and the stand for when it isn't in the case, and the music books, and the tuner...
• my sewing projects, well, mostly just one project. I'm working on a wall hanging that is Sashiko embroidery and applique, techniques I learned at a workshop in Hawaii from a wonderful instructor, Sylvia Pippin. Check out her website at www.sylvia-pippen.com. I'm so close to being finished with the front, and I want to share it with my quilting buddies in Illinois and Montana.
• my yoga blocks and blankets, so I can keep my daily practice going. Otherwise, who knows how riding in a car for so many miles will affect me?
• my electronic devices: iPhone, iPad, MacBookPro, my Wi-Drive, and all the assorted plugs, bells, and whistles that go with these things.
• a cooler for all-important snacks like yogurt and fruit. Yes, I have to admit to also packing a small plastic container with various other snacks—granola, cashews, power bars, gum, tea bags, cookies, chocolate.

Smoky enjoys the goodies I pack, too, and not worrying about food gives him more time to focus on his camera gear. Listing all that would take forever, so I'm not getting into it tonight. I'll just mention that before our last trip he purchased a small SLR for "traveling" (so he said). And it is a sweet little camera, a Canon Rebel SL1. Compact but it takes great photos. I thought it was going to replace his much larger Canon Mark 3D on long trips, but that has not turned out to be the case. They both go along for the ride!

Speaking of things going along for the ride, I hear a rumor that we may have a couple of other "guests" traveling with us, Sparky and Gabby. If that happens, I'm sure you'll hear and see more of them later.

That's it for tonight. Tomorrow has its own set of things to get accomplished before we leave!
—Shann